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Annie Seel says her goal is to inspire more women to experience motorsport.

Swedish rally driver, Annie Seel has always been somewhat of a women’s pioneer in motorsport, accustomed to going head-to-head with the men.

Now, for the first time in her illustrious off-road racing career, she’ll get the chance to compete in an all-women’s event when she lines up for the first ever Gazelles Morocco-China rally. And she can’t wait.

“My passion in life is off-road racing,”she explained.

“I have, for almost 20 years, raced around the world, including eight Dakar rallies on both motorcycles and in cars. Now for the first time I will be part of an all-women’s rally, and also explore a new continent – an adventure and challenge I could not resist.”

Seel will be racing alongside Jeanette James, four-time winner of the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles at this month’s initial promo event for the Gazelles Morocco-China, in Naiman Province, China from Oct 23-26.

Having started her racing career back in 1987, Seel is the only professional driver taking part in this month’s promo event.

Seel brings to the Gazelles Morocco-China plenty of years of experience, and a list of impressive achievements. She’s not only the first woman to have raced both the Dakar Rally and the Baja 1000 on a motorcycle and in a car – not many men can make that claim – she also set a world altitude record by riding a motorcycle beyond base camp and up to 5305m on Mount Everest.

All those skills will be put to the test in the Ke’erquin Desert.

There, 10 teams featuring drivers from 12 different countries will be armed simply with a map, pencil and compass and have to plot their way across the course to reach as many checkpoints as possible and cover as few kilometres in the process.

While that will certainly provide a challenge, Seel is accustomed to taking on seemingly insurmountable tasks.

“When I finished my first ever Dakar rally back in 2002, it was my biggest achievement standing on the podium at Lac Rose. I had overcome so much, including a fractured wrist, mechanical problems, rainstorms and fever – but I still reached the finish line. I felt I was reborn as a super hero.”

But the Gazelles Morocco-China is going to offer the 51-year-old Swede something she hasn’t experienced before.

“I have never raced there before. I imagine a vast landscape and almost endless scenery. I think the scenery will be spectacular, and to meet the culture of the East will be a fantastic experience.”

An instructor and motivational speaker as well as a professional driver, Seel is also on another mission.

“My goal is to inspire more women to experience motorsport. I organise the only women’s rally school, and have also invited new women who are beginners as my co-drivers in different events during the years.”

INFO GAZELLE RALLY CHINA:

Gazelle Rally China is an offshoot of the famous Rallye Aicha des Gazelle, which has taken place in Morocco since 1990. To celebrate the event’s 30th Anniversary – the rally will offer a new challenge in the gruelling Naiman Desert, China.

An initial promotional event will be held in China from 23-26 October 2019, as a taster for the full Gazelle Rally China, which is scheduled for August 2020.

A total of 10 teams with drivers from 12 different countries, will tackle the three-day event, putting their skills to the ultimat in the Naiman Desert.

Annie Seel is the only driver representing Sweden and Scandinavia, but she will be in good company teaming up with the four-time winner Jeannette James from France.

One of the categories in China will include electric cars, while the Gazelle rallies are the only motorsport events in the world with International ISO 14001:2015 certificate which guarantees that organisers have implemented an Environmental Manage System (EMS).

Svenska Dagbladet
2014-01-10
“Feels like shit, we are so disappointed to quit the race. Reason for withdrawal: engine breakdown.”

Teknikens värld 2014-01-09 /web page/The World of Technique
“Punctures have been a common problem for many competitiors this year, also för Annie. But what brought her and Garry down was a leaking oil hose. It caused a major damage in the engine and the mechanics had not enough time to fix it before next start. It is not allowed to change the engine in cars like in bikes.
This is the first time ever that Annie must abandon a race, this was her 6th participation in Dakar. The team had reached pos 74 in total when finishing stage 4 and was among the top in the SSV class.”TeknikensVarld.se/2014/01/09/45504/annie-seel-brot-dakarrallyt(opens in new tab)

Annie & Garry are in a good mood and have done well, in spite of some problems with brakes. They got lost early in the stage, and Garry must adjust his driving, using the motor to slow down the speed.
So, it was quite exciting as the stage was rather difficult.

Connell/Seel: “Splendid stage! The terrain was like it is in Australia, in the Safari Rally. Stones, narrow, sinuous… It was awesome, I had so much fun! We passed Robby Gordon twice, and also Ronan Chabot, it was fun! Only our brakes suffered due to the hot temperature and of all the braking.”

The return of the Princess.
The Desert Princess comes back to Dakar. Having done over five rallies on bike now she will ride a car, a Polaris, as copilot with Australian Garry Connell, who makes his debut.

Below
Expressen 2014-01-04 (swe)

“No Dakar rally, no life”
Diseases, accidents or injuries – nothing scares Annie away.First part of the article: Summary of Annies rally history on bike. Now she got this opportunity to be the copilot for Australian Garry Connell. After a test rally recently in Morocco they were ready for Dakar.
Not participating in this rally for a couple of years had made Annie quite frustrated. She needs the kicks of excitement, to feel being alive. Racing in the desert is really tough – the goal is the goal. But in the future Annie would like to drive the car herself.In the frame: She has never quit any race!The last part of the article: facts about Dakar through the years, locations and winners etc. Also 50 deaths.